The list of authors who have illuminated the life of the Catholic clergy is impressive: G.K. Chesterton, Georges Bernanos, J.F. Powers, Edwin O’Connor, and Graham Greene. To that list you can now add Richard Infante, a priest himself and a master of the art of fiction. This volume gathers his already-published stories with a new novella, “Saints and Sojourners.” The drama in the stories emerges from matters peculiar to priestly life, yet applicable to every vocation. In priesthood as in family life, there are generation gaps. There are crises. There are infidelities — and near-infidelities. And there is always grace, though it sometimes arrives in a distressing disguise. “These stories are something more than realist. They’re real. And so they hit a reader not the way words usually do, but rather the way life does.” (From the foreword by Mike Aquilina) Richard Infante is a Catholic priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, He holds four master’s degrees, including a Master of Fine Arts in fiction writing from the University of Pittsburgh. His work has appeared in journals such as Dappled Things, The Catholic Faith, and Pennsylvania Illustrated. He has been active in the promotion of the arts in the Pittsburgh region.
